Bracket Notes: CONGRATULATIONS to THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TEARS OF THE KINGDOM for winning The 2023 Game of the Year tournament!

The 2024 Game of the Year tournament will open for predictions on December 9th, 2024, followed by the start of the tournament on December 16th, 2024. Until then, have a wonderful 2024!

2023 BONUS ROUND RESULTS

(2) Baldur’s Gate 3 - 1212 (49.09%)
(3) Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name - 1257 (50.91%)

(1) Resident Evil 4 - 1245 (50.71%)
(1) Super Mario Bros. Wonder - 1210 (49.29%)

(2) Dead Space - 1167 (47.99%)
(2) Super Mario RPG - 1265 (52.01%)

(1) Alan Wake II - 1303 (53.21%)
(4) Lies of P - 1146 (46.79%)

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Welcome to The 2023 Game of the Year! This was truly a big year for gaming, but out of the many great games released, only one can be crowned The 2023 Game of the Year! Which game will it be?

Generally speaking, most games released in 2023 are eligible for the tournament. However, there are exceptions, which are listed below:

*Ports or certain remasters of games released prior to 2023 on the same or different systems (ex. The Last of Us Part I on PC, Red Dead Redemption on multiple platforms)

-Remakes can be considered eligible if they offer notable differences from their original versions, even if the previous version was in the tournament before. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis

*Compilations such as GOTY or Complete Editions with little to no new content included over what was already available (ex. Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection)

However, games that might fit these criteria are potentially eligible. If a game offers enough new content such as an expansion, then that content is considered eligible. This will vary on a game-by-game basis

*Games in Alpha, Beta, or still in a testing phase and not yet officially released. This includes Steam games in Early Access and elsewhere (ex. Lethal Company, The Outlast Trials)

*Games with episodic content that are not yet fully released. An episodic game must have all of its "episodes" released within the eligibility period to qualify for that year's tournament. Otherwise, the episodic game can become eligible for the tournament in the year that its last episode is released, as confirmed by the developer

*Games released later in another year in either Europe or North America that have previously been in the tournament before

-If a game was first released one year in Europe or North America and was eligible in that year but did not make the tournament, then it is potentially eligible in a future year if it receives another release, whether it's a port, remaster or otherwise

In order for a game to be eligible, it MUST have a North American OR European release date from December 10th, 2022 through December 8th, 2023. Results will be revealed by two divisions each day up until the beginning of the Quarter-Finals, where results will be revealed per match until the end of the tournament.

The tournament will begin on December 18th, 2023, with a one-day break on Christmas Day (December 25th, 2023), a two-day break on New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day (December 31st, 2023 & January 1st, 2024) a one day break before the Semi-Finals (January 10th, 2024) and finally a one-day break before the Finals (January 13th, 2024). The Finals of The 2023 Game of the Year will be on January 14th, 2024. The 2023 Game of the Year will conclude on January 15th, 2024 with four special bonus matches. Good luck to all contestants!